Nov 18,2024
"Madness, lost our heads, gave up"; strong words from Heimir Hallgrimsson following the humiliation at Wembley Stadium.
The Icelander was thrown straight into the spotlight following the game, as he tried to make sense as to how his side were torn apart in the second half by a rampant England side that punished Ireland at every opportunity.
The comments, of course, could be construed of a manager putting the blame squarely on his players, but evidently, he was just trying to explain things from his vantage point on the sideline.
"It is easy to stand on the sideline and criticise," he added, while also rowing back on the "gave up" comment, saying maybe that was "too harsh".
Hallgrimsson has been all about the collective since taking over as national manager and he would most certainly have been including himself in the overall criticism of capitulating against the stylish hosts.
The manager came into the game quietly confident that his side could play the game on their own terms and attempt to frustrate and nullify England. He was quite candid about his philosophy, speaking about controlling the game out of possession, while saying that his side would have to suffer to get a result.
Despite the thawing of relations between the two nations in recent years, there was a hostile atmosphere throughout large sections of the ground, not helped by the potentially provocative military manoeuvres on the pitch before the game. The national anthems were then distinctly disrespected, but thankfully the tension did not spill onto the pitch.
Liam Scales' clattering tackle on Harry Kane and a tumble on the turf between the England captain and Jayson Molumby about as close as things got to causing any sort of commotion.
For the military references would be kept in reserve for that second-half bombardment, as a shell-shocked Ireland conceded five quick goals to undo the ground work of the first half where Hallgrimsson’s side stood firm.
Ireland appeared content to start the second half as they finished the first, and while England lacked the creativity to trouble the defence in the opening 45 minutes, they soon seized on a poor pass, which caught Hallgrimsson’s men slightly out of position and made the breakthrough.
Lesser teams may not have capitalised on that stray Evan Ferguson pass, however, Jude Bellingham was on the move early and Kane had the quality to play the precise pass at pace to find his team-mate inside the box.
Callum O’Dowda appeared to be back in a decent position as Bellingham skipped inside Scales, however, the Celtic man had taken a chance and it proved the wrong option as he left his foot on the forward's ankle and the penalty was duly awarded.
Hallgrimsson may have to reflect further as to why he did not make any substitutions after the red card, allowing the team to slot into a four-man defence, and in hindsight, it may have been a chance to break the play and get some direction from the sidelines.
"It happened really quickly," said Hallgrimsson when asked if he considered making a change after the red card to get a message out onto the pitch.
"I wrote it down, it was 52nd minute, the first goal, Nathan Collins just dropped so we played a 4-4-1.
"And then two minutes later, there was little chance to change tactics or throw in players…"
The second goal was the killer, and if Ireland had just managed to hold on for a few more minutes, that basic ball in from the right would most likely have been calmly cleared by either Nathan Collins or Josh Cullen.
As it turned out, Anthony Gordon was not going to pass up such a simple opportunity to secure his first goal for his country as England put the result beyond doubt.
By the time the triple substitution did arrive in the 66th minute, Ireland were down and out at 3-0 in arrears, and the changes did little other than give some players a well-earned rest.
"I know physically it’s difficult to play defending all the time, but you could see mentally it was tough as well," said Hallgrimsson.
"So for that reason we made a triple change to get fresh heads and fresh legs in to fight for the rest of the game. Because physically and mentally it was a shock for everyone."
The Nations League campaign comes to a close following four defeats and two victories, thanks to back-to-back wins against Finland, and while the opening three defeats could be explained somewhat, this humbling performance in Wembley will be hard to get over.
After the game, the atmosphere was akin to the home defeat to Luxembourg or some of the other disappointing results of the Stephen Kenny era, and the new manager will surely face further scrutiny over the coming weeks.
Four months is a long time to wait to try to get over this defeat, and by the time the Nations League play-off comes around, there will be a much stronger line of questioning around the manager’s suitability to take the team forward ahead of the vital World Cup campaign.
Hallgrimsson spoke ahead of the game about how he felt progress had been made, yet it was a firm case of two steps back tonight, putting pressure on whether the team can maintain their League B status by winning the two-legged play-off in March.
The manager will now travel to Nyon for Friday’s Nations League draw to see where he will take his team for the decider.
As things stand in League C, it is looking like a trip to eastern Europe awaits, and while Ireland may go into the tie as favourites as the second-tier side, word of the 5-0 crushing will already have teams lining up, ready to take their chances.
